The One With The Ick Factor
"The One With The Ick Factor" is the twenty-second episode of the first season of Friends, which aired on NBC on May 4, 1995. Plot Monica is dating Young Ethan and the relationship is going pretty well. When she tells the gang he's a senior in college, they also find out that she's told Ethan that she's 22 -- a bit more than a white lie considering that Monica is 26. On "the night" Ethan admits that he's a virgin and has been saving himself for the right person. That doesn't deter Monica, though, and the two have sex. Afterwards, Monica feels compelled to admit that she's not really 22. She's relieved when Young Ethan takes the news with alacrity, but her relief soon turns to disgust when Ethan reveals a secret of his own. He's a senior... in highschool. Young Ethan contends that the two can continue their relationship even though he's barely 18, but Monica is having none of it. When Ethan asks her why she's breaking it off she tells him "...it's icky." Phoebe temps as Chandler's secretary, which brings out the fact that his former work colleagues don't like him anymore. Chandler does all he can to fix the situation, but Phoebe makes him see that they will never look at him as a friends because he's their boss now. Chandler uses this to his advantage to cut some work off his shoulders and tighten project deadlines. Rachel has erotic dreams about the guys, starting off with Chandler and sex on the coffee house table. This makes Ross jealous of Chandler. Some time later, Rachel fantasizes about Joey and Chandler (pointing out that "there were times... where it wasn't even me" her). Ross can't be more jealous of the guys. Meanwhile, Ross gets a pager to receive notice when Carol goes into labor, but people keep paging him with requests for a gay Russian gigolo. Things are starting to calm down in the lives of the friends, when Ross eavesdrops on Rachel fantasizing about him in her dreams. His euphoria is such that he starts jumping on the table, but slips and lands on Rachel, waking her up. Just as things may finally get started between the two, Ross' pager beeps, this time with the real thing - Carol's in labor, she's about to give birth - Ross is about to become a father. Cast and Crew Main Cast Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Green Courteney Cox - Monica Geller Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing David Schwimmer - Ross Geller Supporting Cast Stan Kirsch - Young Ethan Brian Buckner - Office Worker #2 Darryl Sivad - Office Worker #3 Anthony Backman - Coffee Shop Patron (uncredited) James Michael Tyler - Gunther (uncredited) Crew Directed By: Robby Benson Written By: Alexa Junge Trivia *In reality, Stan Kirsch, who plays Ethan, is only 4 years younger than Courteney Cox. * Chandler mentions Lowell and Shelley, characters that appeared in "The One Where Nana Dies Twice" (S1E8). * Ross and Monica's cousin Nathan was previously mentioned in "The One With All The Poker" (S1E18). * Ross later becomes the butt of the gang's jokes in season 6 when he starts dating Elizabeth, who is much younger than him. *This is the first time Chandler is picked upon for his mis-accentuation of sentences ("Could that report be any later?"), a running gag in the series. *Rachel's erotic dreaming about the guys is featured again in "The One With Rachel's Dream" (S9E19). **Contrary to this episode, in the "The One With Rachel's Dream", Rachel uses the dream to act upon her feelings and tell Joey of her crush. In this one, she neither has the time (as with Ross) nor the will (as with Chandler and Joey) to act upon her feelings. *When Ross is ushering Monica and Rachel and Chandler and Joey out of their apartments, Rachel puts on lipstick, explaining "there might be cute doctors there!". Indeed in the next episode, Rachel flirts with Carol's doctor. *In the opening scene Rachel pours a cup of coffee and then sits on the couch holding the mostly full pot in the palm of her hand. *Chandler mentions Rachel's attraction to doctors as having something to do with her father. Later in the series, she gets together with Ross, who although no one in the group acknowledges it, is in fact a Doctor in paleontology Episode Navigation Category:Friends Category:Season 1 Category:Friends Episodes